Stories of bravery, chaos, desperation
Fire report details harrowing scenes
By Ron Menchaca , Glenn Smith
The Charleston fire captain trained a hose on the flames chewing through the Sofa Super Store as billowing smoke choked the air around him. Behind him, a firefighter struggled to find slack in the line so they could move the hose closer to the heart of the blaze.
Water shot from the hose in irregular bursts. Then suddenly the line went dead, the stream turning to a trickle.
The captain clawed at his radio to call someone, find out what happened to the water. But the radio didn't work.
He was stuck in silence as black smoke blanketed the room, blotting out light, and heat seared the very air around him.
The story is one of several tales of chaos, bravery and desperation that fill a draft federal report on the deadly June 18 fire. In rapidly deteriorating conditions and against insurmountable odds, firefighters continued to battle a fire that got the best of them and killed nine of their own.
The report from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health describes harrowing scenes in which firefighters quickly found themselves struggling for water, unable to see, bumping into one another as their air tanks ran dry. Above them they could see the steel truss roof glowing red on its way to collapse.
Realizing they were in trouble, some pleaded for help. A mayday was called. Another firefighter radioed that he had lost the hose line and needed help. One activated the emergency button on his radio. Still, men rushed inside, looking to help.
One firefighter struggled to find his crew as he dragged hose line into the superheated building, barely able to see. Then his low-air alarm went off. As he tried to follow the hose back, it snaked under a piece of furniture and disappeared. He jumped over the furniture, desperately searching for the line. It wasn't there.
He found another firefighter who helped lead him to safety. Then he simply changed air packs and dashed into the building once again to find the men he'd left behind. He made it only 50 feet inside this time, as intense flames and heat forced him back. He finally jumped through a showroom window to escape the inferno.
Two others from a neighboring fire department followed hoses inside and found a pair of city firefighters in distress. One man was on his hands and knees,screaming for help as he tried to drag his comrade to safety. As the two rescuers tried to help, the showroom erupted in flames, knocking them to the floor. They escaped, but without the men they had tried to save.
In a matter of minutes, the flames had won and nine men were gone.
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Comments
CountryGirl (anonymous) says...
That is so sad. What happened to their water supply? I heard there were no sprinklers in the building, but I didn't realize the firefighters had no water either.
May 9, 2008 at 1:15 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
CedarPosts (anonymous) says...
Harpo - Five months prior to the Sofa Super Store fire MSNBC ran a series of stories on firefighter safety that were highly critical of the CDC's NIOSH unit.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17027671/
The over all take is the NIOSH is understaffed and underfunded with little incentive to be very forthcoming when investigating firefighter deaths.
Country Girl - The reason you didn't know about the lack of water is Chief Rusty prohibited anyone from talking to the media.
Six months ago I wrote of Capt Mark Davis' account of the fire http://cedarposts.blogspot.com/2008/0...
But the CFD and the Mayor went into spin mode within minutes of the tragic events.
The purchase of the Super Store property, the timing of the purchase, the delay of the independent report, and the sudden reversal and decision to release the report by the Mayor and Rusty's gag order all smacks of spin control.
Or in my opinion a municipal government out of control.
May 9, 2008 at 4:54 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
moonpie (anonymous) says...
Still hard to read.
May 9, 2008 at 6:06 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Hey_U_Guys (anonymous) says...
I'm really tired of hearing about this. And the fact that the Mayor sepnt so much money buying the site, is ridiculous to me.
May 9, 2008 at 7:18 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
jifdeng3 (anonymous) says...
CedarPost.
Have you ever ready NIOSH LODD reports? They are very well done. They do take a while to come out, but it is in the interest of firefighter safety. As a Captain in a local dept. I read these reports to learn what mistakes people have made in the past so I can have that little bit more knowledge that might save my crew on day. I appriciate the time and detail that they go to, under staffed or not. I encourage every firefighter to review these reports.
May 9, 2008 at 8:21 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Neponset (anonymous) says...
After reading the description of what happened, and I have no doubt that it is accurate, I felt very sad. All I can come up with is that good men died for lack of proper training, equipment and leadership.
May 9, 2008 at 9:09 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
RTC (anonymous) says...
I remember listening to the tapes, and someone was yelling about cars running over the hoses. This didn't help matters, but the cars were hardly the reason for lack of water.
May 9, 2008 at 9:27 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Girleygirl (anonymous) says...
This was very sad to read and a heartbreaking. Now I can really understand why some of these families are so upset & want the truth to come out.
May 9, 2008 at 9:50 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
reality_woman (anonymous) says...
The sad truth of this matter has several components.
Lack of training, no water pressure, small hoses and last thing is they never should have gone in the building. No way should they have been allowed to go in there.
Sad, but honestly I am sick and tired of hearing about it already. It has happened and we all need to move on.
May 9, 2008 at 9:56 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
oldglory (anonymous) says...
Perhaps redundancy is what is needed with this story until . . . the people involved who cut costs/refused to keep up with technology/used poor judgment/put money before human beings/etc are brought into the light rather than hidden behind politics/politicians/good ol' boys?
May 9, 2008 at 10:12 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
jifdeng3 (anonymous) says...
Hey reality woman, you suggest we just ignore it and let it go away? Are you kidding me. Firefighters will not. Changes need to be made, and people need to be held accountable. It will not just go away like so many people wish it would. Sick of seeing it? The dont read the articles.
May 9, 2008 at 10:12 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
kateanderikinnova (anonymous) says...
IMHO it is sad that Mayor Riley had to buy the property to set up a memorial to those men. One would think that the family that owned SSS would may be donate the property, seeming as how their company was at fault for the tragedy.
May 9, 2008 at 10:43 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Neponset (anonymous) says...
low
Take your polical B.S. elsewhere.
May 9, 2008 at 10:44 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
jifdeng3 (anonymous) says...
The SSS owner was not at fault for the deaths. Poor fd decision making is a fault for that.
May 9, 2008 at 10:49 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Weeeee (anonymous) says...
Yeahhhhh. Neponset, Moose is right regardless of whether you like it or not.
May 9, 2008 at 11:19 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Paul (anonymous) says...
When are "The People" going to wake up and dispose of these two dinosaurs before their antiquated good ole boy thinking murder someone else ?
May 9, 2008 at 11:28 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Paoa (anonymous) says...
"Only killed nine brave men" Moose ? Say that in a Charleston fire station !
May 9, 2008 at 11:41 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
choochood (anonymous) says...
Thank goodness I do not live within the City of Charleston boundaries. What kind of "LEADER" would refuse help from another department - when their equipment was superior to what he had available? Maybe the city needs to find him another job.
May 9, 2008 at 12:04 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
kateanderikinnova (anonymous) says...
SSS is not entirely at fault but the did contribute to the catostrophic blaze.
As quoted from P&C 09-21-2007
The state also came down on the Sofa Super Store for failing to adequately protect its employees. The store was fined $32,775 - one of the largest penalties ever assessed against a small business in the state - for having padlocked or malfunctioning exit doors and for failing to a have an emergency action plan in place.
P&C from 09-27-2007
Nearly a year before nine Charleston firefighters died in a fire at the Sofa Super Store, the store's insurance carrier mandated that the business have a sprinkler system. The store's owners say they were never notified of that change.
The revision, however, has cost the store's owners a good portion of the $1.1 million insurance payout they were expecting after their Savannah Highway store was destroyed by fire on June 18.
May 9, 2008 at 12:22 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
firemike111 (anonymous) says...
Anyone who thinks this issue should be dropped, that it is old news, a slow news day, or just a dead issue. Then please feel free to post your address so that the firefighters that would be responding to help you at your home can just drop the map page, or maybe show up and drop their hose at you feet an tell you to go at it B***h. Get the hell off if you don't want to see this stuff.
May 9, 2008 at 12:24 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
JohnS (anonymous) says...
The could do some good with the property like build the Minority Center for the Arts. The location would provide enough parking spaces.
May 9, 2008 at 4:41 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
vg (anonymous) says...
A Center for MINORITY Arts? Now who is being racist? I care for said minorities every day at work; the LAST thing they would appreciate is an arts center!
How about if we make it a MULTIRACIAL, Caucasians welcome, Center? Then at least it would be utilized.
So sick of the handouts for the damn minorities. Get a job!
May 9, 2008 at 6:01 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
JohnS (anonymous) says...
Yes West of the Ashley has a high level of Latinos and that would appreciate hearing some Latino music or attend an english class. These folks once they become citizens would be able to vote in the community.
May 9, 2008 at 7 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
motormania (anonymous) says...
Does CFD have a MABAS box system in place? It'S MUTUAL AID BOX ALARM SYSTEM. It seems they have nothing in place, refuse mutual aid from a department wanting to help? What kind of backwoods direction is that? Oh yeah and by the way, we don't need your large diameter hose either, we have 1" booster lines from our old horse drawn wagons. Thank you anyway!
May 9, 2008 at 7:35 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
DawnM (anonymous) says...
this is soo sad, must have been heartbreaking not to have enough water
May 9, 2008 at 8:49 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
frenchsmom (anonymous) says...
Tired of reading it ? TURN THE DAMN PAGE.
May 10, 2008 at 8:18 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
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